09 Dec Can you…? How to use “can” in English.
The verb “can” in English belongs to the modal verbs which means that its form never changes.
| I can swim. He is able to swim. You can dance. You are able to dance. He can drive. He is able to drive. She can swim. She is able to swim. It can work. It is able to work. We can work late. We are able to work late. You can make coffee here. You are able to make coffee here. They can come back tomorrow. They are able to come back tomorrow. |
Can – positive sentences:
Can – negative sentences:
The negative form of “can” is “cannot” or in the contraction “can’t”, which is more commonly used.
| I can’t swim. I’m not able to swim. You can’t dance. You aren’t able to dance. He can’t drive. He isn’t able to drive. She can’t swim. She isn’t able to swim. It can’t work. It isn’t able to work. We can’t work late. We aren’t able to work late. You can’t make coffee here. You aren’t able to make coffee here. They can’t come back tomorrow. They aren’t able to come back tomorrow. |
Can – questions:
It’s worth noticing that questions are created by means of inversion:
| Can I swim well? Am I able to swim well? Can you dance? Are you able to dance? Can he drive? Is he able to drive? Can she swim? Is she able to swim? Can it work? Is it able to work? Can we work late? Are we able to work late? Can you make coffee here? Are you able to make coffee here? Can they come back tomorrow? Are they able to come back tomorrow? |
To strengthen your knowledge and practise your skills, we encourage you to fill out these PDF worksheets: Print them and enumerate the most important things that you can and can’t do.
If you need to do more exercises to practise more, you can get our MINI HELPER:
and ”SPEAKING HELPER” Cards.